The Big List: VIBE's Best 43 Albums Of 2013

December 16, 2013 - 7:36 pm
by
John Kennedy

Who didn't drop an album in 2013? From emerging stars like Migos and Chance The Rapper to heavies like Eminem and Lady Gaga, the past 365 were pretty epic days for music fans. And as we prepare for the new year, it's only right to look back on which discs were audio dopeness—and which ones were frisbees, to forever fade from our memory (that's a whole 'nother list).

In this year's Albums of the Year list, you'll find that there are some LPs that are seemingly out of place (as in released in 2012) and others that are conspicuously missing (as in released last week). We're making like the Grammy's this year and setting eligibility dates from December 1, 2012 - November 30, 2013, so you're gonna have to wait 'til next year's list to hail Beysus (but don't stop listening/ogling).

So without further ado, VIBE's 43 best albums of 2013. Have at it. —John Kennedy

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43. Juicy J, Stay Trippy

Whether his songs are inappropriate or not, they're infectious enough to have any girl convinced she's the third member of Atlanta’s notorious short-short donning Twerk Team. It's all in good fun. —Stacy-Ann Ellis

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42. The Game, Jesus Piece

Sacrilegious? Maybe. But Game's lightly themed concept album is an interesting take on the everyman's relationship on the (wo)man upstairs. —John Kennedy

40. The-Dream, IV Play

With an album title like IV Play, you know what you’re in for (although it sounds like Dream doesn’t believe in actual foreplay). While the lyrics at times eclipse his actual vocals, it’s still an entertaining ride. The songs are dripping in sex and go against any radio-friendly formula, but that’s The-Dream’s whole shtick. He doesn’t have to give you singles; he can write those for other people. He just came to bang. —Kathy Iandoli

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39. 2 Chainz, B.O.A.T.S.: Me Time

2 Chainz knows he’s got to diversify, and that’s the reason why there are also songs like “So We Can Live,” about being harassed by the police, which starts with a trite T-Pain hook and “for the ladies” vibe, and then winds up sounding like a slept-on backpack rap tune from 1998. And “Used 2” pays homage to Juvenile’s “Ha” (it’s even produced by Mannie Fresh), giving what could be perceived as standard strip club fare a real creative spin. Which is all to say that B.O.A.T.S. II: Me Time really does what it set out to do—prove that 2 Chainz, while occasionally unfocused, is more than a guy who just makes trap music. —Paul Cantor

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38: T.I., Trouble Man: Heavy Is the Head

T.I. proved his pen is strong, even after leaving the pen. While Andre 3000 steals the show completely on the epic "Sorry," Tip brings top-grade lyricism ("The Introduction") and turn-up anthems ("Track Back Jumpin,'""Ball") on the Marvin Gaye-inspired project. —John Kennedy

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37. Troy Ave, New York City: The Album

With a flow that recalls 50 Cent (before the bulletholes), this Brooklyn spitter brings Big Apple nostalgia of the non-drowsy variety. Troy’s gritty yet witty New York City: The Album reminds you that shit is (still) wicked on these mean streets. —John Kennedy

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36. Raheem DeVaughn, A Place Called Loveland

Raheem takes us all on a trip to neo-soul nirvana on this snoozed-on LP. —John Kennedy

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35. Terrance Martin, 3ChordFold

One of the smoothest joints to drop in 2013, 3ChordFold furthers Robert Glasper's fusion of hip-hop, jazz and neo-soul. Don't sleep on this. —John Kennedy

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34. A$AP Ferg, Trap Lord

Trap Lord is an underground rap album for listeners reared on a decade of 808s and melodic variations of John Carpenter’s “Halloween” melody. It’s the sound of old New York gracefully mixing with the new New York. And it’s really good, basically. —Paul Cantor

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33. Kid Cudi, Indicud

Our favorite lonely stoner Kid Cudi scores another top 10 album with his Indicud LP, continuing his singsong-rapping on an 18-track journey of synths and depression. —Sowmya Krishnamurthy

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32. The Weeknd, Kiss Land

Vocally, The Weeknd is in fighting form. He still invokes his Michael Jackson-tinged timbre and chilling falsettos, but the singer’s voice has a newfound confidence. “You will never feel so pretty. You will never feel this beautiful,” he sings with defiant overtness on “Pretty.” —Sowmya Krishnamurthy

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31. Ciara, Ciara

It seems sort of strange to say that Ciara has finally found her voice. She's been in the game for a long time now. But in a lot of ways, it's true. Ci-Ci has never been the most talented singer, and we're not suggesting that her vocal performances will shock you as you listen to Ciara. But she plays around with different ranges on Ciara—and even does some rapping on "Super Turnt Up"—in an effort to show off her versatility. —Chris Yuscavage

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30. Kevin Gates, The Luca Brasi Story

Luca Brasi cemented Kevin Gates as one of Southern rap's most distinct characters and distilled his vulnerable street personality into the best songs of his career. "Neon Lights," "Paperchasers," "Arms Of A Stranger" and "Narco Traficante" are all potential hits. He continued the high-quality output with "Stranger Than Fiction," showing that harsh tales of love, death and drug dealing go a long way with the right storyteller. —Max Weinstein

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29. Robin Thicke, Blurred Lines

Blurred Lines remains true to its name, smudging both genre and decade boundaries. It’s disco-meets-rave-meets R&B. The quickie—11 songs clock in at a mere 44 minutes—has a family-gathering appeal to it, catering to probable attendees of a barbecue, graduation party or Sweet 16. Be clear, Blurred Lines wasn’t meant to be heard for lyrical complexity or meme-able quotes. It’s hard to listen to his verbiage and tell what the songs are about because all efforts are spent stifling urges to break into an 8-count. —Stacy-Ann Ellis

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28. K. Michelle, Rebellious Soul

During her public ascent to stardom, K. Michelle isn’t interested in being the ideal role model to her fans. She’s just a woman living and figuring out her life at the same speed as everyone else, enjoying and sharing every bit of the ride with us. —Stacy-Ann Ellis

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27. Vic Mensa, INNANETAPE

There’s more to Chicago than Chief Keef’s bang-bang belligerence. Former Kids These Days frontman Vic Mensa offers positive vibes with a liquified flow. The Windy City war reports captured on his INNANETAPE project won’t make you want to catch a case. —John Kennedy

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26. A$AP Rocky, LongLiveA$AP

The latest in a legacy of stylish Harlem rappers offered a fresh Uptown sound, with a few hits ("Fuckin' Problem," "Wild For The Night") and nostalgic raps ("1 Train") to boast. LongLiveA$AP solidified that both Rocky and his A$AP Mob crew are here to stay. —John Kennedy

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25. Tamar Braxton, Love And War

Love And War is at times all over the place, but that’s perfectly fine. The project is beautifully crazy—exactly what we’ve come to know and love from Tamar Braxton. It took a dose of reality TV to bring us to Tamar’s musical reality. Now everyone is tuned in. —Kathy Iandoli

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24. Janelle Monáe, The Electric Lady

Janelle Monáe dusts the stage with Baby Powder and puts a spit-shine on dusty classic funk/soul. Her sophomore album, The Electric Lady feels like her crossover moment, culminating with a royal collab with musical mentor Prince, who adores her. —Shanel Odum

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23. Wale, The Gifted

With The Gifted, Wale's strongest showing to date, he weaves the story of an artist who’s grown weary of fame, but is finally prepared to release the negativity that’s saddled him in the past. It took Wale three albums to find his comfort zone, delivering his most textured and focused collection of music. He sounds considerably less tormented; perhaps he’s finally accepted that he can’t please everyone. —Julian Kimble

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22. Danny Brown, Old

At 19 songs deep, Old is expansive and long. Some might argue it’s too long. But the story Danny is telling here—his progression from underground rap hero to an on-the-cusp cult celebrity—would only be partially complete in any other fashion. There are essentially two albums here, one for his old fans and one for the new. Rare is it that an artist can pull that off, but he somehow does. —Paul Cantor

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21. Kelly Rowland, Talk A Good Game

Kelly’s fourth solo album Talk A Good Game is far more defined R&B with a modern tinge. Kelly proves she doesn’t need to genre hop to strut her stuff, and it pays off, setting her far apart from the status quo of mass-produced songbirds. While she may never shake the pesky Beyoncé interview questions and comparisons, Kelly finally knows who she is and how she’d like to sound. —Kathy Iandoli

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20. Big Sean, Hall Of Fame

Hall Of Fame feels much more cohesive than Sean’s debut. It doesn’t feel like was trying to fill quotas (the weed song, the stunt record, the obvious single, etc.). Lyrically, he's stepped up his game up tremendously. He has the right balance of subject matter, taking us to the club on tracks like “Mona Lisa,” then, later, tackling heavy topics like terminal illness. —Mikey Fresh and John Kennedy

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19. Mac Miller, Watching Movies With The Sound Off

Typically, when an artist shifts their creative direction so drastically, the outcome is disastrous. But with Watching Movies With The Sound Off, Mac Miller makes a strong case that it can be done. It might not be a perfect album, but it’s a strong one. It’s got good production, strong lyrics and overall it’s a good listen. —Paul Cantor

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18. Jay Z, Magna Carta ... Holy Grail

No matter how much bigger Shawn's bank account gets, he's still the same, old hungry boy from Marcy. But on Magna Carta ... Holy Grail, the boy is caught in a struggle with the man he hopes he's portraying himself to be. Even though he goes on a stunting spree for majority of the album, it's all just playthings in this game.
His most prized possessions? A woman who stuck by him despite his dark past, a team who is closer to him than his own bloodline and a daughter who has taught him that love is worth more than vices and sacrifices. However, Hov lets his tax bracket run his rhymes simply because he's the only one who can perform these excessive stunts: "Making love on a million" and owning a home that could rival the Louevre. Jay Gatsby even creeps up in "Somewhereinamerica." New money never sounded so good. Still, he makes the luxury rap sound like a business venture we can all cash in on (even a twerking Miley Cyrus). —Adelle Platon

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17. Eminem, The Marshall Mathers LP 2

Marshall Mathers LP 2 is Shady doing what Shady does best: rapping his heart out, then holding it up bloody and pulsing for us to examine. There is nary mention of Mathers’ challenges with dependency or the death of his best friend, Proof. Dr. Dre, D12, 50 Cent are all absentees, and the rap guest list is restricted to one: Kendrick Lamar. MMLP2 is the concentration of a 41-year-old multimillionaire hunkered down in his elevator-access home, scribbling internal rhymes on the external of the margins, lashing at everyone outside of Detroit, not to mention the guy a Kroger who notices his crow’s feet. —Luke Fox

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16. Earl Sweatshirt, Doris

While lacking the focus and conceptual patience of Tyler, The Creator’s Wolf, Doris embraces its core progressive zeal with little concern for mainstream acceptance. This is highbrow, bold, uncompromising, and at times off-centered stuff. As is, Earl Sweatshirt has created a strong, intriguing, and more importantly, mature statement. —Keith Murphy

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15. Rhye, Woman

Taking a page from Sade's book, vocalist Milosh floats gentle whispers over the undefeated Robin Hannibal's beautiful instrumentation for Woman, the duo's first album and one of 2013's best. One listen to "Open" is enough to convince you that it's a contender for best record of the year, and the group pushes on to experiment with heavenly harp on "3 Days" and a running piano ballad on "The Fall." Woman hasn't lost an ounce of luster—it's hands down one of the year's best albums. —Max Weinstein

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14. Ariana Grande, Yours Truly

Grande's introduction to Top 40 calls to mind the excitement of blossoming upstarts like Britney Spears and Christina Aguilera without the belly-baring midriffs and suggestive wordplay. Yours Truly is genuine in nature, much like its hostess in live performance settings. But by the final riffs of the last track, you can't help but hit rewind in hopes she won't fall victim to the Cyrus effect and hold on to her innocent youth just a little longer. —Adelle Platon

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13. John Legend, Love In The Future

Legend still pushes sexy R&B, but this is date-night music, not Robin Thicke debauchery. What’s adventure? Playing hooky from church to make love in the living room. The rash and damaged women of his youth are replaced with a one and only whose biggest flaw is nitpicking her own. His foreplay is telling her to pick out baby names (“boy or girl?”). And babies are “love tax write-offs.” —Clover Hope

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12. Lorde, Pure Heroine

Lorde took the world by storm with her hit single, "Royals," and followed it up with a stellar debut album in Pure Heroine. The 17-year-old New Zealander addresses social issues that come with being a teenager in a materialistic world, but she does so with both passion and nonchalance. She takes these things seriously, but not too seriously to stop having fun. "Tennis Court" balances teenage preoccupations with impending fame ("Getting caught's half of the trick though, isn't it?") and the album closes with "A World Alone," a stunning track that bucks the world's expectations and realizes what the best path to happiness is. Pure Heroine is like adolescence in audio form—just innocent enough to remain charming. —Max Weinstein

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11. Run The Jewels, Run The Jewels

Run The Jewels is the dystopian, post-apocalyptic album that we didn't know we were waiting for. If Bladerunner had a lost soundtrack, El-P and Killer Mike were banging it out, using only mushrooms and weed smoke as their fuel. Take the sonics of Cure 4 Cancer and the head-banging poignance of Rap Muzik, and you've got a beast of an album with Run The Jewels. —Max Weinstein

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10. Quadron, Avalanche

There's an obvious growth apparent in Quadron’s second album, Avalanche. Here is a project meant to rock from start to finish—especially during chill moments. The duo is on a mission to take over soul music, one glorious tune at a time. —Kathy Iandoli

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9. Chance The Rapper, Acid Rap

Gifting the world with Acid Rap, Chance the Rapper introduced a bite and freshness that few veterans of the game can match. Filled with honest stories, patented drug references, sense of humor, and interesting takes on life, the tape is a monolith that firmly stamped Chance on the hip-hop radar. —Gavin Mathews

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8. Tyler, The Creator, Wolf

Wolf represents the artistic peak of the Odd Future clique’s strange and sneering run. Between this and Ocean’s Channel Orange, the bar has officially been set. —Keith Murphy

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7. J. Cole, Born Sinner

Born Sinner serves as J. Cole's rite of passage into being rap's potentially lethal contender. There are no filler tracks trying too hard to be radio singles or records made for the club; the curse of the sophomore slump eludes him. It's a pensive piece straight through, preaching to the undergrads who could barely afford college or the cheaters trying to fight temptations but most importantly, the individual trying to save him from himself. —Adelle Platon

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6. Bruno Mars, Unorthodox Jukebox

Bruno’s strong vocals and irresistible, gimmick-free hooks steer his retro second album to modern-day pop monster. Unorthodox Jukebox is a retro, time-trekking scavenger hunt of sounds that manages to propel Mr. Mars forward, all while staring about-face. —John Kennedy

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5. Pusha T, My Name Is My Name

My Name Is My Name is an incredibly lyrical album. That shouldn't come as a surprise. After all, Pusha has made a living off delivering line after line on all of his projects. But he has also been blessed with a lot of solid production efforts over the years, and that continues on his solo debut. He grabbed beats from a laundry list of different producers—everyone from Kanye West, Swizz Beatz and Pharrell to Don Cannon, Rico Beats and Nottz contributed productions—but it also sounds like Pusha did more than just take the first beat that producers threw at him. The production on MNIMN alone is complex, interesting and cohesive, which makes the album as a whole a worthwhile listen. —Chris Yuscavage

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4. Daft Punk, Random Access Memories

Daft Punk’s Random Access Memories has fallen from someplace “outside the ether in which we live” to the Earth’s surface and spread like the Bubonic plague across the world. It’s easily the biggest dance album of the year. As for the single, “Get Lucky” featuring Pharrell Williams, which shot to number one on iTunes upon droppage, it's not just the former N.E.R.D. star that makes this a hit. Thanks are also due to Nile Rodgers, whose undeniable axe chops kick in after about two minutes. If you can't enjoy this song, get a therapist. Or go back to your EDM. —Sarah Polonsky

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3. Kanye West, Yeezus

Yet there’s a reason why Yeezus so far stands out as Kanye West’s most divisive work (it has officially surpassed 2008’s emotional opus 808s & Heartbreak).This is electro progressive punk masquerading as a rap album.
West even admits that not everyone will be in for the ride when he lifts these telling words from gospel choir Holy Name of Mary Choral Family: “He'll give us what we need/It may not be what we want.” So, the next time you find yourself shaking your head at what you perceive to be West’s latest douchebag antic, remember: The sensitive jerk in the leather kilt just may be the most important artist of his generation. —Keith Murphy

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2. Justin Timberlake, The 20/20 Experience<

Forget the edginess and urgency of FutureSex/LoveSounds, the best pop album of this generation. This time, the tailored Tom Ford suit’s worn in. It fits, it’s a staple, and people craving something fresher always think it’s too safe. Where FutureSex felt like change, this just feels good. —Clover Hope

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1. Drake, Nothing Was The Same

Drake definitely made good on his promise to show critics that his R&B posturing doesn't mean he still can't rap his ass off. Nothing Was The Same is an incredible RAP album. He’s rhyming with purpose.
In the progression from So Far Gone to Nothing Was The Same, Drake’s subject matter hasn't changed much. Family dysfunction, destructive relationships with women, unwanted but wanted excess, fame hurts, repeat. He’s still the Kleenex champ when it comes to putting feelings on paper.
Initially it seemed like Drake is rapping for the crown but he believes he already has it (see: “Paris Morton Music”). It’s early, but he’s competing for legacy position. And he’s carving a far different road map to get there. Can you ever be better than the best rapper when you don’t only rap?